While we're on the subject of management trashing companies - a (true) story:
I used to work with a salesman by the name of Nick who in a previous job had worked for a company that made custom carpets. Custom in the sense that they could and would weave anything you wanted into it. They were used by people doing short runs of designer carpet, high end interior designers and the like. One of their other lines was making carpets with company names or logos in for exhibitions or reception areas.
One day the accountants hauled Nick in to complain that a certain subset of his accounts were murder to get money out of. Turns out that more than
half of the companies that ordered a new logo bearing reception area carpet went bust before getting around to paying for them. So, if you ever go anywhere where's a brand new carpet in reception with the company's logo - think twice before doing business with them and ask some penetrating questions becuase that carpet may well be "
Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic".
A couple of years after Nick and I parted ways he passed us (at a new company) a lead which panned out nicely and I and another colleague agreed to meet him for a thank you beer. Our office was in Cannon Street in the City and his office was in Heddon Street smack in the middle of the West End where all the entertainment is. So we agreed to pick him up from his office in Heddon Street at knocking off time and did so. When we turned up Dave says to me "
Have we been here before? This looks familiar.". "
Yes, it does.", I replied but neither of us could figure out why . We go in, get Nick and go for beer and food.
Later we explained the "feels familiar" thing to Nick and he said, "
No, you havem't been here before - at least not to meet me. It probably feels familiar because our office doorway is the doorway on the cover of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust". And that was what the
deja vu feeling had indeed been about, we'd both known the location over half our lives despite never having been there before.